ELEVATING Happiness in August 2025

So… September. How did August pass me by this quickly. This year is so weird. Some month are just a blur. I thought July was busy but August wasn’t much better. I feel like we didn’t really have much of a summer this year. It’s been very rainy. I only managed to get into the river a few times because it was so cold. It feels like fall for the last three weeks. I don’t know. Everything is messed up somehow. Which doesn’t mean August was bad. Let’s have a look on how I elevated August despite it not feeling like summer. Which is ok for me because usually August is one of the worst months.

How I incorporated my word ELEVATE in August

I elevated my soul by

• coloring in my coloring book.
• sitting on the pier with my hand in the water cooling down during a migraine attack and spotting sweet water jelly fish.
• consciously not listening to anythings when walking or sitting.
• taking a bath.
• watching the night sky and catching a shooting star.
• baking cake. Eating cake.

I elevated my creativity by

• coloring in my coloring book. (yes, adding it again)
• managed to blog a bit more even though not about everything I had my mind set on.

I elevated my hobbies by

• coloring in my coloring book. (again. Ha!)
• reading. More but not enough. I wish my mind would focus more.
• tending to my garden and harvesting some herbs, and hanging them to dry. Also collecting some seeds in order to have plants next season.

I elevated my physical appearance and fitness by

• setting up my personal Custom GPT which is better focused on getting me in tip top shape for the arctic expedition.
• doing a fitness check provided by my health insurance and getting a bench mark. It was a bit sobering.
• swimming in the river – not nearly enough as I had hoped for but I did a few times.
• doing yoga only six times.
• doing strength training seven times..
• closing my apple rings 5 times – it felt more…
• walking over 10.000 steps/day on 7 days, total of 153km and an average of 7,086 daily steps (101% of goal).

I elevated my health by

• made an appointment for the gynecologist.
• went to the dentist.
• went to the neurologist.
• coloring in my coloring book. (and yet again because it was so good for my mental health to do.)
• managing to eat less sugar and I can feel the benefits.
• filing my paperwork with the health insurance.
• Sleeping more than seven hours for seven nights. And one night over eight hours.

I elevated my relationships by

• went on a hike with my mom.
• surprise birthday visit for my godchild. It was strenuous but it was good.
• birthday party for my godfather at his rowing club. Such a nice place.
• lovely co-working sessions with a fellow freelancer.
• networking sessions with fellow AI managers in order to keep ourself in the loop and accountable in staying on top of industry trends.
• summer party at our friend’s house.
• leaving 151 blog comments.

I elevated my home by

• cleaning the bathrooms.
• pruning my plants to have another burst of blossoms.

I elevated my style by

• buying some new pants – had the same one but its starting to be too big and this one was on sale so I got a smaller size.
• wearing more blouses this month – mainly because they fit again.
• playing a little bit with my outfits and finding new combinations.
• painting my nails twice.
• wearing one piece I haven’t picked up in 900 days and two pieces I haven’t worn this year.
• buying some blue eyeshadow and mint eye liner. I love a good color combination. What can I say.

I elevated my behavior by

• giving a workshop on AI – such a stressful thing but I did it.

I elevated others by

• leaving three podcast reviews.
• being a sounding board and hopefully helping by listening.

After I struggled a lot in July I have managed to steer back on track fro my goals. At least what the exercise goals are concerned. Still I had more migraines in August which was a bit stressful and workshop that really pushed me out of my comfort zone and that took a lot of energy to prepare. Did I mentioned I hate giving workshops? And I have another one coming up in September. Sigh. I guess I can only get better at it. Anyways let’s have a look at my September goals. Shall we.

ELEVATING September

• I will elevate my soul by
  …riding my bike through the woods.
  …enjoying the last summer sunshine.
  …looking into a quick get-away with the husband in October.
• I will elevate my creativity by
  …watching another course on Creative Life before my subscription runs out.
• I will elevate my hobbies by
  …going to the book flea market in the library and allowing myself to pick up 5 books.
• I will elevate my physical appearance and fitness by
  …sticking to the fitness plan.
  …reaching out to the arctic guide to make things a bit more concrete.
  …staying on top of my proteins.
  …going on four 10km hikes.
  …starting Zumba again.
• I will elevate my health by
  …getting an acupuncture migraine piercing.
  …reducing sugar again and avoiding blood sugar spikes.
  
• I will elevate my relationships by
  …calling my godfather who was diagnosed with some illness. (roll over goal but only because he was on vacation.)
  …celebrating my sisters birthday.
  …celebrating my moms birthday.
  …going to a Giora Feidman concert with my mom.
  …meeting someone from the KI networking in real life.
  …going on a hike with my friend.
  …calling my sister.
  …meeting my best friend.
  …writing some post cards.
• I will elevate my home by
  …drilling these holes to better store things. (roll over goal).
  …weekly tidy up session of 15 minutes in my office.
  …preparing the terrace for the winter season – seed collecting, cutting back plants and cleaning up a bit.
  …listing ten things on eBay.
• I will elevate my style by
  …creating two outfits for the birthday celebrations.
  …getting make up on half the times.
  …mixing myself a fancy drink.
• I will elevate my behavior by
  …being less snippy to the husband.
  …applying for a fund in order to get some more AI training.
  …another workshop (arghhh) – about LinkedIn this time.
  …presenting myself as a runner up for the church council.
• I will be elevating others by
  …write another three podcast reviews.

What elevated your spirits this past month? How ill you elevate your relationships in September? When was the last time you elevated your wardrobe and style? How is your health and fitness doing? What is a good podcast I should look into? Do you regularly leave reviews somewhere?